Football team deals with inconsistent season, moves forward
Football has entered the home stretch as the last month of its regular season has come upon it after enduring games that were good, bad and ugly.
Central Michigan’s last game was a bit of all three, since it was tied with Northern Illinois at halftime and then let the Huskies break it open in the second half in a 38-17 defeat.
It was a continuation of a trend in its losses to non-BCS teams with the Chippewas getting outscored by a combined total of 65-6 in the second half of defeats to the Huskies, UNLV and Toledo.
CMU (3-5 Overall, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) led the Rebels 21-7 at the break before losing 31-21, and in its 38-17 loss to Toledo, it was only down 21-14 at the half.
Head coach Dan Enos said he has no fix for faltering in the last two quarters. Getting the underclassman and the rest of the team to understand it must bring as much into the second half as the first is key, he said.
“Halftime is just a time to go and regroup a little bit, (to) talk about any minor adjustments that you want to make on each side of the ball,” Enos said. “Then, you've got to come out and you've got to play likes it’s the opening kickoff.”
The best Enos got out of his team was in October, with victories against Miami (Ohio) and MAC East favorite Ohio.
The Chippewas were bolstered in the two games by things every coach desires: A successful rushing attack and a defense that can keep teams at bay.
CMU held Ohio to its second lowest scoring output to date in its 26-23 win, and for the first time in the Enos era, the Chippewas held a team under double digits in a 21-9 win over Miami.
“We were just flying around, having fun,” said senior safety Avery Cunningham. “Rallying to the ball, hitting the ball carrier, having fun with it and doing what you’re supposed to do.”
The running backs also found holes, especially sophomore Saylor Lavallii, in the team's two wins in October. He had 151 and 184 rushing yards against Miami and Ohio respectively, contributing to the running game’s two best games of the season.
Through everything, Enos said there was plenty of evidence to take from the first eight games that give him confidence in this team for the last part of the regular season when it looks to earn its second straight bowl bid.
“There’s been a lot of moments,” he said. “From the play of our defense against Ohio and Miami, and earlier on versus Northern Illinois. Just been getting turnovers. Our young freshman kicker making some big kicks for us. We've got a freshman quarterback getting better every week. We’re very excited about finishing the season and where we’re going to go from there.”
Contact Jeff Papworth: jeffpapworth@ymail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffPapworth.
